Training Program

Our training adheres to a strict bench-mark schedule that takes you from no experience to Certified Flight Instructor in 24 months.

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From day one to finding your dream job, we are here to provide a clear path to your goals. We guide you through the entire experience. Our Student Services Staff is comprised of financial aid professionals and veteran graduates.

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From the ground to the sky, you will be surrounded by highly experienced flight instructors and a faculty comprised of the most experienced personnel in the industry.

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Our highly experienced Veteran staff are here to help you from the initial paperwork to the resume that lands you your first job.

July 14, 2017

What is High Density Altitude and why does it matter?

You may have heard about “flying in High DA” or “High Density Altitude”, but does that really mean anything to the aspiring helicopter pilot looking for the right training program? I can tell you that it didn’t mean anything to me when I first started looking into flight schools. Back then, I had seen it … Continued

February 14, 2017

One Student Pilot’s Advice on Applying for Flight Training in the USA

Private Pilot, Lechelle Dippenaar traveled across the world to take the next step in her flight training, coming to Guidance all the way from South Africa. Here, Lechelle shares with us the some of her story and what it was like enrolling for flight school in the U.S. as a foreign citizen. What was your … Continued

January 2, 2017

Santa Flies in on a Helicopter: 2017 Edition

Once again, a Guidance Aviation pilot was happy to oblige when Santa Claus needed a ride. This year, Chief Pilot Instructor Zach Hardwick heeded the call to escort Santa over to Yavapai Exceptional Industries (YEI!). Check out a 360°, panoramic video of the event. If you’re on mobile, try moving your device to see the … Continued

December 12, 2016

Keeping the Prestige in Pilot

Guidance Aviation Pilot, Andrew Craw and his family relocated over 1700 miles for Andrew to attend the right flight school and to pursue his dream of becoming a Commercial Pilot. His dream is now becoming a reality. As I sit with my wife and three year old son at the local airport restaurant, I can’t … Continued

Shell Aviation Produces Unleaded AvGas

December 4, 2013

Guidance Aviation’s Cirrus SR20 G3

Shell Aviation stated on December 3rd that its 10 year development and testing of an unleaded aviation fuel to replace the current 100LL AvGas (aviation fuel) has possibly paid off. This “performance drop in” 100LL replacement fuel will power piston aircraft – at least that is Shell’s goal.

This replacement fuel has a motor octane number above 100 and has been tested in Lycoming engines on the ground. It is also reported that the replacement fuel has had some limited testing, in flight with a Piper Saratoga. Shell is pursuing a fleetwide certification for the fuel as opposed to the “by model” approach.

The FAA’s goal is to deploy a lead free aviation fuel by 2018 and Shell thinks they may beat that goal by approximately two to three years, or a 2015-2016 deployment.

Shell Aviation Press Release

Shell today became the first major oil company to develop a lead-free replacement for Aviation Gasoline (Avgas 100 and 100LL), which will now begin a strict regulatory approvals process. Avgas is one of the last common transportation fuels to contain lead and is used by light aircraft and helicopters. Shell’s new lead-free formulation comes after 10 years of exhaustive R&D, as well as successful initial testing, carried out in the last two months by two original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Xinsheng (Sheng) Zhang, Vice-President of Shell Aviation, said: “We are proud of this first for Shell Aviation. This advanced product is the latest milestone in our long history of innovation. We believe that with industry support, a stringent approvals process can be completed for this new lead-free product within a short time-frame. We look forward to working alongside our technical partners and authorities to progress the necessary approvals needed to make this product a reality for use in light aircraft engines of all types.”

Avgas currently includes lead in its formulation to meet fuel specifications and boost combustion performance (known as Motor Octane rating). Shell has developed an unleaded Avgas that meets all key Avgas properties and that has a Motor Octane rating of over 100, an industry standard. The development of a technically and commercially-viable unleaded Avgas that meets these criteria has been seen by the aviation industry as a significant challenge, due to the tight specifications and strict flight safety standards that it has to adhere to.

To get to this stage, Shell Aviation technologists carried out an intensive internal laboratory programme, including in-house altitude rig and engine testing. Working alliances were then formed with aviation engine manufacturer Lycoming Engines (Lycoming) and the light aircraft manufacturer Piper Aircraft Inc. (Piper). As a result, the formulation was successfully evaluated in industry laboratory engine (bench) tests by Lycoming and in a flight test by Piper.

Shell technologists have been working on removing the lead from Avgas for 10 years at their dedicated Aviation laboratories.

“Lycoming Engines commends Shell on launching its unleaded Avgas initiative”, states Michael Kraft, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Lycoming Engines. “They engaged Lycoming to test their fuel on our highest octane demand engine and we can confirm that it’s remarkably close to Avgas100LL from a performance perspective. This initiative is a major step in the right direction for general aviation.”

“Piper Aircraft is pleased to participate with Shell and Lycoming in this feasibility flight test programme,” said Piper Vice-President of Engineering Jack Mill. “Recently, we successfully flew an experimental non-production Piper Saratoga with Shell’s new formulation for about an hour. We appreciate the opportunity to work with Shell and Lycoming in this preliminary investigation of the technologies, which could in several years lead to flying unleaded fuel in our production airplanes.”

Aviation Gasoline (Avgas) is used to power light aircraft. It currently contains lead, but Shell Aviation has announced a lead free option that will be submitted for approvals.

Shell will now engage the aviation industry, regulators and authorities, including the US Federal Aviation Administration, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to achieve approvals for the unleaded Avgas. Shell expects to also work with other OEMs to continue the testing and refinement program as the approvals process progresses.